City moving ahead with library plans

City moving ahead with library plans

The city isn’t wasting any time expanding the Cambridge Library and Galleries into the Old Galt Post Office.

At Friday’s budget session, councillors granted a request from the Cambridge Library Board to start design work this year instead of 2016.

“We’re really excited about this project,” chief librarian Greg Hayton told the city budget task force. “We’ve not had a project that’s received such positive feedback from the community.”

Last fall, council approved the purchase of the Old Post Office on Water Street for $950,000. The intent was to preserve the national landmark and turn it into an expansion of Queen’s Square Library. Once renovated, the stone Victorian building will provide another 14,000 square feet of space for the library, along with a café operated by the Landmark Group, which owns the Mill Restaurant.

Library chair Colin Carmichael explained that moving $340,000 – needed for design work – into the 2013 capital budget, would potentially save $200,000 in construction and inflationary costs. It would also allow the library to move forward with grant applications to renovate the building sooner.

While councillors voted to move up design work, the library board didn’t get everything it wanted.

Carmichael asked that council turn the project over to the library board, explaining that the project appears in the library budget and “we are responsible for it”.

Chief administrative officer Jim King said the city already has a department in place to tackle this type of project and Bob Paul, city director of facilities management and development, has a reputation of delivering projects on time and on budget.

During the expansion of the Hespeler Library on Tannery Street, construction problems delayed the opening by seven months and library patrons were forced to put up with interim facilities for more than two years during the construction.

Since completion, the

$4.2-million library has won a number of design awards and the facility should meet the needs of the community over the next several decades.

King suggested that having the city oversee the project, “would be prudent given the limited contingency available”.

Councillors agreed to leave the project with city staff.

As the city’s client, King said library officials would be heavily involved in developing plans for the building. Following Friday’s budget session, King said there is potential for more than one private-sector partner to be involved in the redevelopment of the Old Galt Post Office.

Hayton called council’s decision to move forward with the design work good news and said it sets the stage for construction to begin prior to 2016.